Paramagnetic alignment of thermally rotating dust

Paramagnetic alignment of thermally rotating oblate dust grains is studied analytically for finite ratios of grain to gas temperatures. For such ratios, the alignment of angular momentum J in respect to the grain axis of maximal inertia is only partial. We treat the alignment of J using perturbative methods and disentangle the problem of J alignment in grain body axes from that of J alignment in respect to magnetic field. This enables us to find the alignment of grain axes to magnetic field and thus relate our theory to polarimetric observations. Our present results are applicable to the alignment of both paramagnetic and superparamagnetic grains. Subject headings: dust, extinction — ISM, clouds — ISM, polarization